Santa and his elves raise £6,000 for charities

The Oswestry Cambrian Rotary Santa Sleigh toured the town and nearby villages in December.

The £6,000 raised included nearly £500 from Santa's Grotto on the Oswestry Live night collected for the Mayor's charity.

That figure, which can be enhanced by Gift Aid, will be distributed around local groups and other Rotary-supported charities and projects.

President Anna Pugh said: "The collection is more than last year and is a magnificent figure in these difficult times and is due to the generosity of our community.

"Thank you to Traditional Products for allowing us to store our Sleigh on their premises. Mike's Bikes for the maintenance on the Sleigh, and Red Square Garage for the donation of a large battery to power the lights and sound system on the sleigh, B&M Bargains, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Stans and Oswestry Town Council for our static site arrangements.

"Additional elves from the community have also helped, so a very big thanks Girls on the Run, Whittington Together, Whittington Castle, Whittington and Oswestry Farmers Group, Mike Perry at West Felton, Tony Ridge and the Gobowen elves. Without your help the drive-by collections in the villages would not have been possible."

“Santa was greeted with warm smiles on the street rounds and static sites and seeing the faces of the children was wonderful. With another difficult year that we have all endured and the difficulties local groups and organisations are encountering, the money collected will be a great help in supporting them.”

Nearly 600 volunteer hours were spent on the project and the sleigh travelled 160 miles around Oswestry, Morda, Gobowen, St Martins, West Felton, Whittington and Park Hall.

More details about the club can be found online at oswestrycambrianrc.co.uk